Gen Z Drives 148% Brick Phone Sales Spike as Smartphone Use Falls 12%

1 articles · Updated · Cult MTL · May 27

18- to 24-year-olds led a 148% jump in brick phone sales from 2021 to 2024 while cutting smartphone use 12%, according to research cited in the report.
Heavy social media use, infinite scroll and notification-driven design are driving the pullback, as young users increasingly link smartphones to worse mood, attention and overall wellbeing.
Searches for “dumb phone” rose more than 300% heading into 2025, Reddit’s r/dumbphones topped 100,000 members, and brands such as Punkt reported higher sales.
Gen Z is also the only demographic shrinking its digital footprint: PYMNTS said its average connected-device count fell to 5.0 in 2023 from 5.3 in 2019-2020, even as the national average edged up.
The report says the trend reflects both a real backlash against engagement-focused platforms and a privilege gap, since many workers, patients and immigrants cannot easily afford to be unreachable.

Is the 'dumb phone' trend a genuine escape or just a new aesthetic to perform on the social media it claims to reject?

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